Usually, Startup Nomad is interviews and country overviews, however, while I was in Chile, I was lucky enough to be able to attend a few really cool events that allowed me in with my camera! I don’t usually get to film the events I attend so I was psyched and wanted to share with you.

The three videos below are of Cumpre Emprendedores (Entrepreurs Summit), which was hosted by the Chilean government’s entrepreneurship promotion organization and featured Chile’s president as the keynote speaker; a Startup Chile investors event where 3 international investors gave mini-talks to the audience about the investing landscape and what they look for in companies they’d consider investing in; and the Startup Chile Demo Day, which included pitches from current Startup Chile participants who are fundraising and talks from investors and successful entrepreneurs.

Cristian Chong is the current account manager for Oro V. He’s been involved with a number of startups, has a Master’s degree in Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology, and helped start Movistar Innova, the innovation arm of telecommunications giant Telefonica. He’s Chilean and currently resides in Santiago, but he’s lived and worked abroad so he has a unique view of Santiago’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and how it differs from other parts of the world.

Check out this week’s Startup Nomad interview (below) to see what Cristian had to say and then weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.

If you know anything about entrepreneurship in Latin America you know that Wayra is an incredible powerhouse in the space. Owned by Spanish telecommunications giant Telefonica, Wayra is an incubation program with locations in numerous countries in Latin America and Europe. I was lucky enough to speak with a few of Wayra’s representatives along my journey through Latin America and my first introduction was with Claudio Barahona, the Business Development Manager for Wayra’s Santiago, Chile office.

Claudio was kind enough to let me pick his brain about Wayra and the work it does as well as about Chile’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. He also gave me a tour of the offices and we chatted with entrepreneurs from Crowdsourced Testing and Thinker Thing about their experiences in Startup Chile, Wayra, and Santiago’s entrepreneurship scene more generally.

The video is a long one this week but trust me, it’s well worth it. Check out what Claudio and some of Wayra’s entrepreneurs had to say and then let me know your thoughts:

Eduardo Pizarro is a self-described story-teller who has helped to build a couple of businesses in Santiago, including his current project, iWink. He’s very much involved in the startup scene in the city and knows a lot about how the entrepreneurial ecosystem is developing, so I was excited to speak with him about how he sees the entrepreneurship community. Check out the video below to see what he had to say:

Alan VanToai is the co-founder of Simple Crew and is currently participating in Startup Chile. However, he and his co-founder are from the United States, so I was psyched to sit down with Alan and pick his brain about his experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Santiago and how he thinks it compares to that in NYC.

June Avila is a self-described “startup enabler” working in Canada and she’s also an entrepreneur and graduate of the Startup Chile program. Even though she made the eventual decision to shut down the company that she took through the Startup Chile program, because of her work both as an entrepreneur and a non-entrepreneur supporter of entrepreneurship as well as her experience in the entrepreneurial ecosystems of both Chile and Canada, she had some interesting thoughts on the startup scene in Santiago.

Check out this week’s video to see what June had to say about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chile and let me know your thoughts in the comments section below:

David Truong is the Head of Business Development at App.io, the Founder of Broccol-E-Games, and an organizer of Startup Weekends in both Santiago, Chile and Adelaide, Australia. As an entrepreneur involved in the startup scene across three continents, he’s definitely someone whose brain I wanted to pick about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chile, so I was really excited that he agreed to be interviewed. Since he’s currently splitting his time between the U.S. and Australia and I’m currently a nomad in South America, there’s no video this week, but he did answer some questions I had for him about his experiences as an entrepreneur and the similarities and differences he sees between the entrepreneurship scenes in different parts of the world.

Check out what he had to say below and then let me know what you think in the comments!

Tell us a little about yourself and about the projects you’re currently working on.

I’ve have always been trying to create ‘successful’ businesses since a young age. From selling my drawings, to music, to tutoring, my first ‘real’ business was a vocational training company during university. After that I founded Broccol-e-games, which went through the AngelCube accelerator in Melbourne, Australia, then Startup Chile. I now work with App.io, who have an incredible tech that allows any iOS app to be played in any browser. I’m also an organiser and facilitator for Startup Weekend.

How did you find yourself in the world of entrepreneurship?

I just did things that I loved and that would also create value for someone else. Then I realised that I could sell it and wrap a business around it.

Why/how did you get involved with Startup Weekend in Santiago, Chile?

I am one of the organisers and facilitators for Startup Weekend in Australia. Being in Chile, I thought it would be a good idea to also organise an event there, since there was a lot of entrepreneurial activity happening in the region. I brought together a fantastic team for the event and we organised and executed the event successfully.

What’s your take on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Chile as compared to other parts of the world?

I can only comment about the tech entrepreneurial ecosystem: Compared to the rest of Latin America, it is in a very good position thanks mostly to the Startup Chile program. Compared to other parts of the world, it is behind in some areas. Like a lot of countries, it needs a lot more skills in building products, companies, early stage financing, and web tech entrepreneurship.

Would you recommend Santiago to entrepreneurs? Why or why not?

It would depend on the entrepreneur, what their business is, what industry, and what they plan to do there. I would definitely recommend it if the business was targeting the Spanish speaking market, or if they wanted to eventually move into the Brazilian market.

Where do you see the entrepreneurship scene in Santiago in 5-10 years?

That is a tough question… for tech entrepreneurship, I think the ‘seeds’ from Startup Chile will have blossomed within 5-10 years. There would be a few companies with rather large exits that would validate what the Chilean government is currently doing. Unfortunately, the word on the street is that programs like Startup Chile may be discontinued in a change of government, which could be as early as the upcoming election.

Any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with new or aspiring entrepreneurs?

Focus on solving a problem that you are passionate about. Entrepreneurship is hard, but is very rewarding even if you ‘fail’. There is so much to learn and so much room to grow with building a business.

Over the last couple of years few countries have received as much attention for their governments’ efforts to support and build entrepreneurial ecosystems as Chile has, with its most talked about program being Startup Chile. If you’re in Santiago and looking to get involved in the entrepreneurship world there is certainly no shortage of activities, organizations, and people willing to take you by the hand and help you get acclimated to the world of entrepreneurship in “Chilecon Valley.”

As you can see in the graphs below (from the GEM data visualization tool), entrepreneurial activity has basically shot through the roof in recent years in Chile and given its stable economy and government its poised to be a leading entrepreneurship hub. However, it’s still working on finding its own unique style within the entrepreneurship world and is reliant on experts and entrepreneurs from abroad to keep the entrepreneurial ecosystem running as actively as it currently is.

Total Early-Stage Entrepreneurial Activity, Chile vs. USAPercentage of 18-64 population who are either a nascent entrepreneur or owner-manager of a new business.New Business Ownership Rate, Chile vs. USAPercentage of 18-64 population who are currently a owner-manager of a new business, i.e., owning and managing a running business that has paid salaries, wages, or any other payments to the owners for more than three months, but not more than 42 months.

Over the next few weeks Startup Nomad will be talking to a number of entrepreneurs (both Chilean and non-Chilean) that are currently working in Santiago to build their businesses about how they see the ecosystem and its growth. Chile has been my busiest stop yet, so we’ll hear quite a range of opinions about what Chile is doing especially well and how they can improve their entrepreneurial ecosystem for the future.

If you have any thoughts about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Santiago or in Chile as a whole OR if you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or part of a support organization in Latin America and would like to be interviewed for Startup Nomad, please let me know!

Instead of flying from Santiago, Chile directly to Buenos Aires, Argentina I decided to take the scenic bus route through the Andes and stopping in Mendoza, Argentina to visit the wineries and olive oil factories (which you’ll hear more about next week). All I can say about the bus trip is WOW.

I booked my tickets online via the Andesmar (an Argentinian bus company) website and all I had to do was show up at the bus station the morning of my trip with my printed ticket, my reciprocity fee receipt (Argentina charges all those traveling on a U.S. passport a $160 reciprocity fee in order to enter the country, which you must pay online in advance), and my luggage and check in at the Andesmar desk. My advice: if at all possible choose the a seat on the top level and in the very front of the bus for the best views.

While 6-8 hours on a bus isn’t really anyone’s idea of a good time, the views of the snow-capped Andes were absolutely amazing. Please check out the video below to get an idea, but it doesn’t do the journey justice at all. It was incredible to see and I am so happy I chose to cross the border by bus instead of choosing the more convenient flight.

Today’s post will be short and sweet. I’ve been super busy here in Chile going to startup events and interviewing people in the entrepreneurship world so I haven’t had a chance to do a ton of touristy activities yet. I’m staying in Santiago and, to be honest, the city seems like it could be a city anywhere in any country in the world. It doesn’t have much of a unique personality in my opinion, but it’s definitely more European than the other Latin American countries I’ve visited so far.

Last weekend I did finally get out and do a little Santiago sightseeing so check out the video below to see some of the more popular tourist spots.